If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Re: What we need to ...

What we need to make people realize _____ drug-taking is self- destructive.
A. is B. is that C. was D. was that

The answer is “B. is that”. Why not “A. is”? I can’t make sense of it.
Who can help me get out of this? Many thanks in advance.

I am so sorry everybody. Is my sentence clear now?

What we need to make people realize is that drug-taking is self- destructive.

Yes, the answer is "B".

It's not A because "that drug-taking is self-destructive" is a predicate noun clause, or we could say just a predicate noun, perhaps. Technically, "that" is introducing the subject of a noun clause that is functioning as a predicate noun, and "that" is needed for this type of a clause. It seems strange, I think, because it's on the other side of the verb, which we typically understand to be an object, and noun clauses that are objects do need "that" - it's optional.

It functions as a predicate noun clause because it follows a form of the verb "be" - linking verb.

What's on one side of "is" equals what is on the other side.

What we need to make people realize = drug-taking is self- destructive.

What do we need to make people realize? Drug taking is self-destructive.

That drug taking is self-destructive should not be news any longer.

In the above sentence, "that" introduces a noun clause that functions as the subject of the verb "be".

"Drug-taking" is the subject of "is", and "That drug-taking is self-destructive" is the subject of "be" - verb phrase "should not be news any longer".